Ok guys, we’re starting to get some real mouth-breathing conservative idiots posting to this. Don’t go crazy arguing with them. They’ll go away once they stick their heads back up their butts.

Make sure you read the letter to Mayor Franklin from the residents of the apartment building/house next-door to the bar. It’s perfect.

Someone, or many someones, need to be fired over this bull-shit.

“Mayor Franklin” – what a waste. She’s continuing to demonstrate her lack of spine.

Oh, and find another APD liaison to the LGBT community. This one is a failure, or, maybe just an imbecile. What to do about the Pride parade? DISINVITE her from being Parade (Co-)Marshal. What is Pride all about? What was it that happened exactly 40 years ago to start the modern LGBT civil rights movement? A police raid of a gay bar in NYC. This dolt should remove herself from the Pride event and get out of that special position at the APD. She’s an insult to the whole community.

I was not born in this country.I was born in Cuba where gay rights are the least the cuban goverment is worried about .We are not people to them, we are just like monsters.I can’t say animals because I highly respect animals.
I was lucky enough to establish residence in New York City where I lived for 22 years,then 911 came and I lost my high paying job and decided to move south to Fort Lauderdale (another great place to live) but the bad economy forced me out to Atlanta where it seemed to have a lower cost of living.My friend who now lives in London had talked to me about moving to this part of the country and he implied that I was crazy since I had lived in two of the most tolerant cities in the country bur I decided to experience it myself and he was right I was crazy to move here. This city is full of racist people and the ignorance is very obvious.I am very sorry I move here but the good news is I am going back to Florida and I will never come back to see this kind of behaviour. There you have the Atlanta police attacking a gay bar instead of focusing on the high ammount of rapist and criminals we have roaming the streets.In Georgia it is all about HATE and religion. I hope some day people here change but I have no hope about that. I better go somewhere else where people are more open minded

I’ve talked about this issue a couple of time on my Show and will continue to do so. This is just another horrid example of how the police view the people of the communities that they are supposed to serving. The treat us a revenue generators and serfs.

The SWATT team was used for what could have been an administrative recall.
In the democratic western world, if I can use that term, no SWATT team is utilized for such trivial above mentioned behavior.
Where in France, England, Australia, Spain…? Maybe 15,20 or 30 years ago!
In ATL, the SWATT team arrested gays who were dancing in there undies!
Calvin Klein and Victoria Secrets have their wear advertised all over our bus stops. Should we bulldozed those down?
SWATT teams are an instrument used when people’s lives are in potential danger. In this instance it was used, I believed, to intimidate, subject it and oppress.
Looking from an outside progressive, free, liberal and safe city and having visited The ATL Eagle prior to the raid, my jaw dropped when I read the news of the SWATT team’s involvement there.
I can draw some similarities to the 52 Egyptians men arrested in Cairo in 2001 for being on a boat on the Nile, God forbid, with other gays!
For having traveled and seen night clubs, bars and other establishments in all parts of the world, this ordeal at the Eagle is very foreign and excessive to me.
I’m saddened that Atlanta is utilizing that extent of their police resources for such social moeurs, while the city’s violent crime rate is among the top of democratized countries. What misplaced priorities and values!
Although, I truly miss your wonderful, beautiful and divers people I will skip visiting ATL for now.Indeed, I will canalized my interest to Europe for a while were there is very little chances of a witnessing a gay bar raid or being victim of a violent crime.
I will follow the news and if favorable maybe return to your city at a later venue.

I writing to you concerning a SWAT team intervention in a gay bar in Atlanta.

Please read on.

I have gone to ATL as a tourist and on business regularly. In fact my next short term goal was to buy property in your city which I love for its diversity and urban flare. I have visited the Aquarium and normally attend a few shows during my stay.

Our next visit was planned for the end of December 2009. We have already rented a vacation home in Tennessee and were planning transitioning and staying in ATL for a few days prior to going to Tennessee.

We have now changed our plans.

As a professional who travels extensively all over the world I really need not be anxious about the fact that I’m gay. Certainly, not of all places like ATL.

In the past I truly enjoyed the quality of hotels, restaurants, shows, nightlife and the diversity and of your city. But a SWAT team intervention at a gay bar for what amounts to possible administrative violations as certainly change my opinion.

Atlanta had certainly won my heart in the pass and I’m sincerely saddened to bypass it now. But as a foreigner I cannot risk the humiliation, harassment or criminal record for benign and harmless behavior. As a tourist (or a new habitant) of Atlanta why I would put myself at risk of being the prey of a police SWAT team for having a few drinks in bar. This smacks of overkill to say the least. Xenophobia and homophobia also comes to mind!

So until I hear and see where the administrative and judicial arm of The City Atlanta is moving on this I will avoid traveling there.

I’m sincerely sorry!

As to avoid being tag and filed in some USA police list, unfortunately, I will not sign this letter. A first for me.

im inquiring about the case i just read, I have a case similiar but i was in the barbershop getting my haircut. when police stormed in with a search warrant making everybody lay on ground also handcuffed. detained for atleast 15 minutes. we were all subject to a body search for weapons. after they failed to find any weapons, police officers searched me again this time going in my pockets, where they found cocaine packaged in a sandwich bag. i was then charged with pwi. wasn’t my 4th amendment rights violated?

That would depend on what was described in the warrant and other factors. It would not be appropriate to provide legal advice about your individual situation, but you should certainly discuss this in detail with the lawyer who is representing you in your criminal case.

Few points that all of the prior posters seem to be a bit too verklepmt to address:

1. There had been MULTIPLE prior complaints about naked dudes doing each other in the parking lot in the past. The local community asked the police to do something.

2. There are laws in Atlanta that put limitations on people around naked or in their drawers.

3. The officers in the club saw “guys” dancing on the bar in their drawers. It was a violation and as officers of the law they had to do something.

4. Police have to protect themselves, and whenever they go into an unfamiliar situation they may err on the side of caution. There aren’t too many fairy cops, so they are by definition in an unfamiliar situation.

5. How about facing the problem that walking around in public with your ass hanging out and doing each other on the f/in sidewalk is just not acceptable behavior. If you were there, do the world a favor and invest in some psychological counseling in an effort to keep it in your pants in public. And be glad you didn’t get thrown in jail as you should have been.

Yes Pete, let’s address your comments:
1) When these complaints were made, why didn’t the police simply drive by the area (using an unmarked car). If the people were having sex outside, then the police would have seen them and had just cause to make an arrest… if this actually was happening…

2 & 3) There are specific city ordinances regarding providing adult entertainment. And if the Eagle was in violation of these, then they should have been fined (as per the ordinanace) rather then have the constitutional rights of each patron and employee violated. This is the U.S.A., not Communist Russia.

4) Police also have to identify themselves. When they broke in (and I say “BROKE IN” since they lacked the proper warrant), they failed to identify themselves as Police Officers. Had they done so, people might not have feared serious harm to thier persons. Had the APD acted like Police Officers rather then Gang Members, this might not have turned out as badly as it did.

5) If people are spotted having sex out in public, then the police should address it then and there. Instead, if we assume all statements made by the police in thier investigations are accurate, the APD chose to wait and come back later. Sorry to break it to you… the Police acted incorrectly in this matter. The Police stepped all over the constitutional laws they are sworn to uphold.

Pete,
As the son of a police officer, someone who himself spent much of his life positioning for a career with the FBI, I take extreme exception to your defense of this raid. Are the items you outline unlawful? Yes. Are they used to our detriment as generalizations of “all gay people” in homophobic drum beating? Absolutely. Let’s review your points:
1. You and the ‘anonymous tipster’ seem to be alone in your awareness of these complaints. The Midtown Ponce Security Alliance (MPSA) – which is a cooperative effort between the ‘local community,’ as you put it, and off-duty Atlanta Police Department officers – has repeatedly denied observing such activities. If the people who live nearby and regularly drive past the establishment, and the trained police officers who patrol the area with the mission of protecting those residents, both state they haven’t seen it, from where have YOU been watching?
2. The laws put limitations on people around WHAT naked? The reality is you may be questioned for your sanity, but as long as your penis is not visibly turgid you can walk around Piedmont Park all day wearing your Fruit of the Looms. So if you meant ‘people *dancing around for money* … in their drawers,’ then yes. If you meant to say ‘people *walking* around … in their drawers,” then no.
3. I beg to differ. Had they sent in officers that first night to take action against the unlawful dancers, then you might have a valid point. However they took action ONLY after four visits over a full SIXTEEN WEEK investigation. This indicates that they were unable to find anything significant to charge anyone with. Further, based on your statements, you should be aware that cocaine found inside a nightstand may not be submitted as evidence in a court of law if such cocaine was found while the arresting officer was executing a search warrant of a home based on probable cause to believe a hostage was being held inside.
4. There aren’t many officers who are professional football players, so I presume that – by your logic – they wouldn’t know how to act appropriately if they had to arrest someone running through the Falcon’s training camp with a knife. Or, should an officer not be Jewish, your logic supposes that he or she should not be held accountable for their conduct should they have to arrest someone in Temple. Unfortunately this does not wash. Had the officers acted this way in a bar primarily catering to African-Americans, and then let the customers go from a predominately white bar, there would be complete – and justified – outrage. Their actions must be consistent when executing similar raids regardless of the clientele.
5. I’m with you on this one. However, the investment of this number of hours and over $324 of cash spent at the bar by officers is not in line with the weight of the charges, which are obviously the most egregious acts they could find to prosecute. The concern for the public’s welfare over ‘dancing without a license’ does not merit the loss to the city it is taking to prosecute it. Should it be allowed? No. But should the officers in a major metropolitan area dedicate this amount of scare resources to these misdemeanor charges? Absolutely not.

I fled Atlanta in the summer of 2007 after years of denigration of gay life in this PREVIOUSLY very comfortable gay city of the south. I moved to Atlanta in 1986. That was when being an openly gay [single] man in midtown Atlanta was not looked on as something to hate and the nightlife was vibrant and a lot of fun. At that time, and for years after that, you could go anywhere in midtown Atlanta and see gay couples out walking around holding hands, even after dark. There were numerous gay owned businesses (more than there were when I left in 2007), and, the gay pride celebration was an all inclusive event and focused on ALL gay civil rights concerns, not just marriage rights for the lucky few.

All of this, including the gay [male] nightclub raids of 2003, 2004 and now 2009, are the result of the changes in the population of Atlanta, gentrification of real estate and the huge changes (and growth) in the influence of [conservative] GLBT money and politics. [Think Cathy Wollard and her ilk here.] Yes, I said it. Gay life in Atlanta has been taken over by big GLBT money and it’s influence which has led to a ridiculously conservative attitude that has put an end to almost all of the fun nightlife Atlanta WAS FAMOUS FOR in the past. “Hotlanta” is a thing of the distant past. Get used to it or do what I did, get the hell out of there. Remember, Cathy Wollard was a very loud voice in the city counsel when the ridiculous bar raids by the police of 2003 and 2004 were perpetrated. Mayor Franklin completely caved to her strong political influence. Mayor Franklin has been a huge disappointment for me.

There are infinitely FEWER single or “openly” coupled gay men in Atlanta now than there were, I’d say, before the olympics, and, due to property values, those who remain are more spread out physically (in the metro area) than ever. Atlanta is also a popular place for lesbians to visit and settle. For the most part, lesbians are just naturally must less inclined to be attracted to kinds of nightlife that gay men are. Lesbians in Atlanta have also earned both strong monetary and political influence in the city.

You are in the south. The south is probably the most conservative part of the country. Atlanta has always been the GLBT mecca of the south. With the increasing comfort (success of the larger GLBT movement) that invites more and more of us to come out (and come out earlier), it is inevitable that those who come out in the south will be more influenced by conservatism. I personally feel that is especially true of women.

None of what I’ve said here is in any way meant to justify what the police did in this incident. It was gut-wrenching to hear this story and the Dallas story. Those two stories make me glad I made the decision I did to move away. That action on my part has been very good for me in many ways.

Has the ACLU been contacted? I feel for you folks; I live in Birmingham, AL and haven’t been to Atlanta in several years. This could have happened to any of us at any gay bar in the SE. Very chilling. Good luck with a remedy.

I really don’t really think anyone has ever been impressed by the Atlanta police. I think that city would be better off with Andy and Barney! Seriously though, all the crime in Atlanta and it takes these guys over two hours to bring down a few guys dancing in underwear? Let us pray that Atlanta is never attacked by terrorists! Are we sure their “under cover’ work wasn’t just an excuse to frequent the bar? It would be funny to know how many man hours the police spent frequenting the place before deciding to arrest the underwear dancers. Sounds like there may be more than a few closet cases on the force down there.

I made the terrible mistake to move from Florida to Georgia where race and sexual preference is a sin (As all this ignorants who live around points of view are).It was until I moved to the south that I realize that there are a lot of those who still think the way their ignorant ancestors belived in their way as a better way.I consider them inferior.All of us who love everybody or like me who never ever think of differences are living a better life because hate is a torture.Yes. I can’t deny that I have that feeling inside of me too but my hate is for those who are fanatic who are so tied to their religion that they have no respect for other people’s belives.I am not religious myself but I respect those who practice religions that don’t humiliate women or gays or animals,etc and there are plenty of those.Georgia is a shame for this country who is always trying to make others belive of the freedom that we “enjoy”.I didn’t realize after living in New york for so many years that this kind of people still exist.Shame!!!!

As I read the article, it made me wonder what would happen with the charges against the dancers, doorman, bartender, and manager. Since the raid was already illegal, could they still press the charges against the staff? I have a degree in Paralegal Studies..but this kind of situation wasn’t exactly something we talked about to much so I’m a little confused as to what would happen. Personally, I think that the charges will be dropped in exchange for the bar staff not filing a lawsuit against the police or something. I thought people were smarter than this. The article also talked about people complaining about the bar? I’m curious to know who these people were. It’s a gay bar, were they straight? Or just complete assholes who wanted to make a scene?

This whole incident is wrong on so many levels and scares the hell out of me.
I’ve been to the ATL Eagle, and to every Eagle or leather bar in what ever city I go visit.
This could have been me.
I hope all involved in this very illegal search from the police stand up and file complaints and sue the hell out of whomever they can.
I know I would.
For the rest of you folks in ATL, Don’t stop the protests, and demand action till you get it. That action would be firing all who were involved in this mess of a raid and a vow from city officials that an illegal search and treatment such as this will never take place again.
If you don’t get the action, then the queers need to band together and hit ATL where it hurts and that is in the pocket book and boycott Atlanta. Period. I know I will now think twice about ever visiting again and spending my money in Atlanta. Someone should call CNN about this. This would be a good story for Anderson Cooper. The mainstream media should be picking up on this story.

I was at the Dallas Eagle Raid a few months back performed bt the TABC Texas Asshole Beveage Commission Thats what these guys are all assholes with narrow minds… Dallas raid was not as violent as the atlanta one it sounds . It still is just not right, we dont see them going into sraight bars and doing this crap.

I really feel sorry for all the patrons and staff of the Atlanta Eagle for the problems that they had to encounter! I am only passing through Atlanta, and I was looking at the website when I read about what took place in September. I would love to see the USA come together and adapt to the European way of life! If there has been anyone that hasn’t been to Amsterdam, or knows anything about the beautiful city…….let me tell you that it is a very laid back and relaxed city to be in! I truely wish that the USA could be a happier place to live, because of the acceptance to all things that are hated here. DAMN the Atlanta cops and to hell with all of the haters! Let’s all live free and be happy while doing it! (I am ready to go back to Europe now!) ;o)

This so-called Atlanta Police GLBT Liaison Officer Dani Lee Harris is a traitor and just a hired mouth-piece the police are using to shut us faggots up. Had she really been there to help the gay community, she would have resigned in protest.

i am in no mood to discuss homophobia. the reason cops do what they do is they believe it is their job to put everyone in america in jail. there are more prisons built each year than schools. the more money we spend on incarceration the less we can spend on education. the less money we spend on education the more qualified individuals to become police officers. the future looks dim.
the question i have is how can we talk trash about cops when there are people like mike rogers making movies about outing people who do not want to be outed? he should have been a cop.

APD (Atlanta Police Dept.) should be put in permanent quarantine at the ADP. (Atlanta Dog Pound) The last time I checked this was America. I hope the taxpayers in Atlanta have deep pockets, because something tells me that they’re gonna endure several taxhikes and service cuts to pay for their illegal activity.

I think its time we as the Community start to stand up and make it perfectly clear and known to ALL POLITICIANS, Chief Pennington as well the Officers of the APD… We will change the world and if so… Fire them. We as a Taxpayer of this city deserves the right as Citizens to File a complaint and if it doesn’t satisfy us VOTE THEM OUT!!! I HOPE THE FUTURE MAYORIAL CANDIDATES are listening.. You want us to VOTE for you.. PROMISE and FOLLOW THROUGH with the POSITIVE changes needed. Fire Chief Pennington, (Atlanta has some of the highest crime rates in the country and he came from New Orleans) Hire a Chief that will WORK with us instead of against us.. Also be very vocal toward our POLITICIANS. They get the hint if you tell them that I will vote for the other candidate… Trust me it does work..

Got chills reading this, even weeks post-event. Wrong on every level. Glad to have been part of the Yelp group who had a small event to spread word and keep attention to this story – will continue to be a vocal supporter of this story being told and remedies made, etc.

This will only stop when there is a FEDERAL law protecting the civil rights of patrons at businesses that cater to LGBT people. Whether as an addition to ENDA (which should be expanded to include housing and public accommodations anyway) or as a separate bill, this needs to be made a priority by our movement.

While there are certain forms of discrimination that all oppressed groups face (I would say minority groups except that women are the majority) such as job discrimination there are also often unique situations faced by specific groups that require special remedies. For instance, the denial of the right to vote to African Americans, especially in the South required the Voting Rights Act.

There is a long history of police harassment and intimidation at businesses (and even in public streets) where LGBT people congregate. State and local governments also discriminate in the granting and revoking of licenses and enactment and enforcement of regulations of LGBT businesses. There are whole states with no gay bars. We need a very specific federal law to fight this form of discrimination that would give it’s victims redress in the federal courts. Our political and legal groups need to put their heads together and come up with a law to address this problem.

On September 10, 2009, Atlanta Police illegally detained and searched dozens of patrons at a gay bar without a Warrant, Reasonable Suspicion, or Probable Cause.

Regardless of the outcome of any pending investigations against the bar owners or individuals, and despite any empathy for the police officers, in my opinion this event should be placed in the spotlight – in the courts, in the news, in conversation, etc. This event was not only unlawful, it was rooted in homophobia, and until the homophobia can be eliminated from the equation, events like this will happen again.

Picture this scenario: Several highly trained officers go under cover to the Eagle to build a case leading up to the September 10, 2009 event. Unless these officers were openly gay, and due to the event itself, it seems reasonable to project in hindsight that some officers might have been “uncomfortable” watching men, some provocatively dressed, socializing closely with each other, sometimes touching each other and perhaps even going a bit further. Basically, watching the same thing men and women do at any straight bar, only in their own style.

Now, let’s put several of these officers in a room to discuss their under cover findings in order to determine an action plan. It seems fair to further project that these “uncomfortable” (ok, let’s call it homophobic here), homophobic feelings were not discussed at the action plan meeting. Instead, to make up for these feelings as well as the repression of these feelings, good people conspire, almost creating fantasies (e.g., there must be drugs and guns in each gay man’s pocket in that gay bar where men are dancing in underwear without a license). In the end, these good people made collective bad decisions such as illegally detaining and searching dozens of patrons at a gay bar without a Warrant, Reasonable Suspicion, or Probable Cause. It’s a classic pattern.

These violations have extraordinary meaning in our society, and are so acknowledged under the law. To ignore these violations, and to keep repressed the root cause that led a group of highly respected officers down this criminal path, is simply unacceptable.

That’s because most of us gay people talk a big game but when it comes to putting our money where our mouth is, most don’t contribute to their politicians or other advocacy groups; yet when something happens because chose to sit on our asses for however long, then we decide to bitch about it. Come on people, run for office, contribute your monies to others that are. Money talks, bullshit walks.

This just shows the acceptance of gay people is a thin facade and that the police are NOT our friends. I had a conversation about this on the weekend about whether the police are the ‘good’ guys or the ‘bad’ guys if you’re a gay person, and unequivocally it comes down on the ‘bad’ side.

Im not making this comment to say if it was legal or illegal, I just want to provide my thoughts on the situation. I was there that night and was present during the raid. Im a police officer (not APD) and much like everyone else I dont like being placed on the ground either but as an officer I know why they did what they did and can say that the officers in the area I was in wasn’t being rude or making any derogatory comments. They conducted themselves in a professional manner and if I were there working that night I would have done the same thing on a take down. Im not trying to defend what happened, Im just saying that as a gay man and an officer I see both sides of the coin and I dont feel that they acted in an unprofessional way. As far as determining if they violated any laws or civil rights thats up to the courts and not my place to say.

I wonder why they didn’t do the same thing at the strip club in Roswell? they just told the customers to leave. Wow, that’s a different scenario. sorry, I have had nothing but negative experience with APD. From my house being broken into, being called a fudge packer and told that maybe I should repent and stop living a queer lifestyle as a reason for my being gay bashed.

Chief Pennington should know better. Having served in leadership capacity in Washington, DC and New Orleans he had to be familiar with gay bars and clubs. Sounds like this bar had less action than those in the other cities mentioned here. Maybe it’s time for him to move on again.

Her time is up for being a mayor and she’s moving on. She used us in both elections with lip service then forgot us when it mattered the most. Just another typical policitian speaking from both sides of her mouth, well, except when she trying to hide something like this!!!

I think as many people as possible should show up during the Pride (what used to be called Parade) and make it a MARCH again. We need hundreds of men and women to protest during Pride with signs and bull horns, especially since Shirley Franklin who says she had no idea there was a raid, is one of the Marsals. This raid is homophobic to the core. After all, the police HAD a warrant for drugs, prostitution and other illegal activity as the straight strip club on Roswell Road this week. The difference? All customers were asked to leave–no ID’s checked, no one thrown to the grounds and called names. If you are not mad, you ARE NOT Paying attention!!

And the Grand Marshall of the Pride Parade is a police officer who is supposed to be a GLBT advocate but who defends what the cops did at the Eagle rather than apologizing for it. What is the Pride parade supposed to be about anyway.

There are Eagle employees with unresolved charges, so I’m sure they’ve been advised to officially keep silent. I’m pretty sure all charges will be dropped for lack of merit. However, there’s no dispute that the APD over-reached their authority in detaining and running background checks on the patrons.

Because the actual charges resulting from the raid are of a licensing/procedure nature, the relevant analogy is this: if a pharmacist at a Wal-Mart didn’t get the legally required signature and picture ID from a customer purchasing suphedrine, would the police have the right to detain and run background checks on all the hundreds of patrons and employees in the store? No.

I know every situation has its differences, but in all honesty, I wish some of the old patrons of Stonewall would have been there. To allow oneself, and in this case many, to be pushed around like this knowing that the whole thing was illegal is disheartening. Have we learned nothing?

Committing such actions without a warrant is wrong and unconstitutional to begin with and if authorities acted the way partons said they did.I see the city of Atlanta settling quite a few lawsuits,but any agreement made by both parties should and better result in officers being fired.If not,the city and police department will lose creditablity,not only among their own citizens but with citizens nationwide which will hurt their tourism industry and end up costing them even more.

MAN! this reeks of pre-70’s police raids in New York! Gays and Lesbians should be in an uproar of this kind of treatment in this day in time! The Black society would not. If the police figure they will get away with this kind of hate crimes and nothing is done to right this wrong then other unlawfull raids will surely follow!

I am a supporter of the Eagle with regard to this matter. As someone interested in this case, I regularly search information about it, but can usually find very little. What I find is typically only a short piece or two on Southern Voice or Creative Loafing. I think the Eagle has come off appearing remarkably quiet about this whole incident. I’m sure the Eagle doesn’t feel this way, but if I have to dig for a few short stories about the raid, I suspect the average person going about their busy lives doesn’t know anything about it. Perhaps the Eagle must tread carefully as there are potential lawsuits involved?

This website is interesting, and the page on past relevant case law is especially so. However, there is no information on it about a pending lawsuit or the status of the various official complaints which have been made. I would like to see more about the ongoing legal process, such as a time-line page that showed when various complaints were lodged with a counting clock (in days) of the time the APD has been non-responsive, etc.

I fear this whole incident will just fade away into history. Many people believe the police did some wrong here, but will end up just shrugging their shoulders and forgetting about it, not because it was the Eagle involved here, but because the incident took very long to process by the authorities and in the meantime faded from peoples’ memories and concerns. Sadly, I see no systematic leadership that will change this outcome.